bettyliedtke – Page 54 – FindYourBuriedTreasure

Which would you choose?

First question: Would you rather take a shower in ice-cold water, or skip taking a shower? Second question: Would you rather go without water or electricity in your home? I had to think about both of these questions one day last week, although the choice wasn’t really mine to make in either one. The first question came up during Table Topics at my Toastmasters meeting on Thursday morning. During Table Topics, a question, dilemma, or quote is presented to the group, and the person called [...]

By bettyliedtke|May 23rd, 2014|Columns, Making a Difference, Toastmasters, Uganda|Comments Off

A birthday decision launches a year-long adventure

“Within the next year, I’m going to do 60 things I’ve never done before.” That’s what a friend of mine decided on her 60th birthday, which was a few months ago. Whenever she does something she’s never done before, she writes it down on a slip of paper and deposits it in a special jar she keeps for this purpose. Her goal is to have 60 new experiences by her next birthday. She told me about this after reading one of my recent columns, which [...]

By bettyliedtke|May 16th, 2014|Columns|4 Comments

No column this week

The column I write, which appears in the newspaper every Thursday and here on my blog every Friday, was inadvertently left out of this week's paper due to an oversight at the newspaper office. It will appear next week, so please check back then. Thank you!

By bettyliedtke|May 9th, 2014|Uncategorized|Comments Off

Learning to juggle leads to multiple successes

Sometimes the lessons we learn aren’t just the ones that are actually being taught. What we get out of them can go way beyond what was intended. That happened to me last weekend, during one of the sessions at a “Lead Like Jesus” Reconnect in Chicago. The session was about leadership, but the lesson was about juggling. Each of us was placed in one of four groups, based on our level of competence and enthusiasm for juggling. Then we were given a partner, a set [...]

By bettyliedtke|May 2nd, 2014|Columns, Faith, Success|Comments Off

The source of bravery is in us all

What makes you brave? The date was October 27, 2011. Four people walked down a narrow pathway between two rundown buildings. When they came out on the other side, they were in a different world. Sounds like something out of a Harry Potter book, doesn’t it? But I can assure you that the place these four people were traveling to was not a magical one. It was a muddy and garbage-strewn slum not far from Kampala, the capital of Uganda. Of the four people there [...]

By bettyliedtke|April 25th, 2014|Columns, Making a Difference, Uganda, Values|Comments Off

A weekend in Connecticut brought wealth and abundance home

I spent last weekend at a business retreat in Connecticut. The leader of the retreat is someone I met a few months ago, and I knew she was exactly the right person to help me with some areas of my business in which I still needed some guidance and support. She works almost exclusively with women entrepreneurs, and she focuses on both the spiritual and the business aspects of our work. One of the practices she insists we do every morning is to incorporate [...]

By bettyliedtke|April 18th, 2014|Buried Treasure, Columns|2 Comments

Retiring women? I don’t think so!

I got a lot of feedback on the column I wrote last week – much of it from women who are roughly my age and who are living a life that is anything but “retiring.” In case you missed it, the column was inspired by the George Eliot quote, “It’s never too late to be who you might have been,” and was about women – myself included – who discovered a new talent or calling, and who pursued new dreams and adventures in what might [...]

By bettyliedtke|April 11th, 2014|Columns, Quotes and Sayings|6 Comments

If life’s a journey – where are you going?

“It’s never too late to be who you might have been.” I have a bookmark that has this George Eliot quote on it, and I smile every time I look at it. It makes me think of people like Grandma Moses, who was in her late 70s when she first started painting, after arthritis forced her to give up the embroidery she had enjoyed for most of her life. She, of course, could be the poster child for it never being “too late.” But Grandma [...]

By bettyliedtke|April 4th, 2014|Columns, Quotes and Sayings|6 Comments

Tall tales can make life more fun

I gave a speech at my Toastmasters Club last week, and during the feedback session following the speech, one of the members in the audience said my speech almost made her sick. I took it as a compliment, which is exactly how she meant it. The speech was for a Tall Tales Contest, which is something I love taking part in. It gives me a chance to stretch my imagination, to improve my vocal variety and pacing, and to spend a little time being just [...]

By bettyliedtke|March 28th, 2014|Columns, Toastmasters|Comments Off

A new title brings a clearer vision

“The Title Whisperer.” That’s the name someone gave me at a recent meeting of our WOW group, after I came up with book titles for three of the members who were there. WOW stands for Women of Words, and it’s a monthly writers group I belong to. We don’t meet to get feedback on our writing, but to share publishing and marketing advice and resources, and to support and celebrate each other’s work. Many of the women in the group are already published authors and [...]

By bettyliedtke|March 21st, 2014|Coaching, Columns, Writing|Comments Off

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